Saturday, November 2, 2013

Celebration Saturday

1. I started my week with a package in the mail from @kbport714 filled with multiple copies of Tuck Everlasting, merely because I had tweeted, lamenting that I couldn't find any copies in my classroom library when I wanted to recommend it to a student. She also threw in some other classroom materials just for fun. I celebrate Twitter friends!! The teacher/reader/author/illustrator world of Twitter is incredibly amazing, and it rejuvenates my teaching and mood every time I join in on conversations. I couldn't believe I missed #titletalk on Sunday. I just completely forgot. When I hear people say Twitter is intimidating or negative, I know they haven't tapped in to the right group of people. Thank you, @kbport714 for making my day with those books!

2. My parents traveled to Florida last weekend to close on their new house near Tampa. I'm very excited for them and their new journey!

3. I've had several kids this week express what my classroom library means to them. They love that they are surrounded by books when they come in to my class and that they can talk to me about them. One sixth grader even said she wishes she could stay in my class all day. They know I'll recommend good books. I even got to buy a couple books to put into kids' hands because I was listening to them talk while looking for books. That makes me happy! I also loved the reaction of a student when I bought House of Hades. Kids are loving that book!

4. On Tuesday, a sixth grade colleague, Tracy, and I presented at our local Rotary Club about our #ReadWalkWater project. We were treated to a delicious breakfast and a wonderful group of people. I was honored that our superintendent and principal arranged for us give this presentation.

5. Thursday was of course Halloween, and although it's not my favorite holiday, I love to see creative and cute costumes! It's my daughter, Katie's, senior year, and tradition is for all the seniors to dress up. She and her friends went at "The Wizard of Oz" cast. I thought they looked awesome! We laughed that she matched our dog, Ben!

Even though it was a miserable night - rain and winds - soaked little kids still showed up at our door!

6. Another Twitter celebration: I tweeted that I loved Ame Dyckman's new book, Tea Party Rules, and she was so kind - she sent a package full of book swag for my students!! If you are not a follower of Ame on Twitter, you MUST fix that now! @AmeDyckman is hilarious and so fun!

7. Earlier in the fall, I entered a contest on Kate Messner's blog to become a WAKE UP MISSING Launch School, and we won one of the thirty spots. The signed books came this week! The kids were SO excited. Here's one of the proud new owners of WAKE UP MISSING!

8. I want to celebrate Megan Ginther and the language arts teachers at Berry Intermediate for organizing their own Walk for Water for Water for South Sudan, Inc. after reading A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Congratulations!

9. I'm celebrating all the people on Facebook who are posting what they are grateful for every day in November. I love seeing all the positive posts!

10. To top off an awesome week, Liesl Shurtliff Skyped all my fifth graders on Friday morning about her book Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin, our first read aloud of the year. We were all SO excited to meet her and ask her questions. She was awesome. The kids loved her book, and now they love HER! I'm always so amazed that authors and illustrators are making themselves to accessible to our students. It makes reading come alive. I have some aspiring authors in my classes, and Skypes like this really inspire them. They see these authors as real people who have made writing their livelihoods. It's something to celebrate! We can't wait to read the companion books she's writing!! Thank you so much, Liesl, for making our week exciting!

6 comments:

Your week was certainly one of many things to celebrate, Holly-Wow! I can see why students love to come to your classroom with all the books you are offering, then getting some book swag & skyping-what a great week. I am trying on twitter, but it doesn't 'first' come to mind like FB or blogging. I like seeing people talk-maybe for title talk tomorrow! Thanks for the big shout out!

How awesome to have so many great celebrations! Love how you use twitter; what an awesome tool for teachers! Skyping with authors and illustrators; I'm going to have to look into this; we have a lot of favorite authors in our room; and I have a class full of writers and authors that would love this!

WOW! What a week! Can't imagine whats to come, its only November! Your comment about Twitter is so true. I am sad when people talk about twitter in a negative way. Like anything it depends on how you use the tool! When classroom are connecting learners and changing and opening perspectives how can that not be AMAZING! We got a "swag bag" from @amedyckman too, plan to Skype soon too!

"One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world." - Malala Yousafzai

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

"It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. " - E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

"We read to know we are not alone." - C.S. Lewis

"Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns." - Anne Lamott

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours." - The History Boys

"We're only in control of two things: how we prepare for what might happen, and how we respond to what just happened. The moment when things actually do happen, belongs to God." - DeVon Franklin